by Alta Hensley
Two bowls later, and Birdie had never felt so full in her entire life. It would have been three bowls if she hadn’t pleaded with Anna Mae that she truly had had enough.
“Ma, leave that girl alone. She said she’s done.”
Ma huffed. “Well, you at least have to have some of my rhubarb cobbler. I made it with the preserves from my garden.” She stood up and made her way to the baker’s rack without waiting for an answer.
Birdie looked at Rem, who smiled for the first time since the evening had begun. Small wrinkles formed around his brown eyes, softening the firm features and his distinct jaw line. Rem Langston actually appeared…nice. “Ma does make a nice cobbler.”
She nodded. “I would love some cobbler, Anna Mae.” Birdie hadn’t had a meal like this before, or with people who made her feel safe and welcomed. For the most part, they were strangers and yet, they treated her nicer than anyone had before. “Let me help you.”
But before Birdie could stand, Anna Mae protested. “You sit right there, girl. You are a guest in my house.” She continued to cut and dish up the cobbler, bringing the dessert over, along with a kettle of hot coffee.
The fire roared beside her, almost removing any sign of the cold that could have damn near killed her. Her feet hurt, but she thought that must be a good sign because at least she could still feel her feet. They weren’t black, which was something she had seen happen to an uncle of hers after he had passed out drunker than a skunk in the woods in the middle of a snowstorm. He ended up losing most of his toes because of it. All in all, aside from her punished face, she came out of this last visit with the devil—devil being her pa—still in one piece.
Birdie had somehow managed to find room in her belly for Anna Mae’s cobbler. “If heaven were a food, then this here cobbler would be it,” she praised. Birdie actually considered asking for another piece but worried all this food might not sit well with her later.
“That it would,” Rem agreed, smiling again. “I’m happy to see you eat so much. Your body sure could use a pound or two.”
Birdie blushed—no doubt about it. The heat in her face told her so. She knew she was skinny but having it pointed out, fueled her shame to no ends. The Bluebells weren’t worth more than a farmer’s pig slop. If by some chance Pa ever got hold of some money, it went straight toward a bottle of booze. It was just the two of them, now that Ma was long gone, and occasionally a surprise visit from some other drunken Bluebell. And even though Birdie did her best to try to keep up the home, the large gaps between the planks kept a constant flow of dirt around. Dirty, poor and hungry…ain’t much more to say about a Bluebell.
“Hush now, Rem. Can’t you see you are embarrassing the girl?” Anna Mae chastised. She stood to gather the dishes.
“Oh please, let me do those for you,” Birdie offered, succeeding at standing up this time.
It wasn’t Anna Mae that stopped her this time, but Rem. “No, you go ahead and let Ma handle those. I want you to come sit here by the fire and let me take a look at your feet and that shiner on your eye.” The tone in Rem’s voice gave no room for argument. Birdie didn’t know Rem at all, but she considered herself wise enough to know not to mess around when a man had that look in his eye. One beating for the day was plenty.
Obediently, she quickly sat down and placed her hands in her lap. Rem walked over and kneeled before her, taking one of her bare feet in the palm of his hand. He gently pressed on each toe. “Can you feel this?”
“Yes, sir.” It actually tickled, and she struggled not to giggle.
Noticing this, Rem smirked as he continued to move her foot around, closely examining. “Does it hurt?”
“No, sir.” Although there was still a little stinging, it was far from what she would consider pain.
Birdie wasn’t used to a man touching her. Or at least not touching her gently and with care. One thing she was grateful for was the fact that her pa made sure she was off limits to all the ‘uncles’ who came by to visit. He wanted his Birdie pure of any man’s seed, and he threatened to cut the pecker off any man who dared try. That didn’t mean they couldn’t slap her around when the devil water, they arrived with in large jugs, started to work its magic. It just meant they couldn’t lay with her. For that, Birdie counted her blessings.
After he was done looking at her feet, Rem sat back on his haunches and looked up at her face. “What about that eye? Does it hurt?”
Without thinking, Birdie placed her fingertips to the swollen flesh and nodded. “Yes, sir. But ain’t nothing I can’t handle.”
“Can you see all right?”
Birdie nodded.
“Ma, bring me over a bowl with some water and a rag, will you?” Anna Mae was quick to do as he asked.
He dabbed the rag into the water and placed it against her bloody lip. Very gently, he started to wipe away at the dried blood. Birdie watched as his large and rough hands delicately patted at her lip, cautious to be extra careful. His jaw clenched as his eyes studied her wounds.
“Ma, come over and look at this. Do you think I need to go get Doc and have him sew this up?”
Birdie gasped and instantly covered her mouth with her hand.
Rather than yelling and slapping her hand away, which she expected Rem to do, he gently reached for her hand and pulled it slowly away. “It’s all right, Birdie. Let my ma have a look at it.”
Anna Mae leaned in and studied her lip, squinting her eyes and hissing between her teeth. “It looks like it smarts something awful, but I’d say it’s in no need of a stitching.”
Birdie let out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding, in relief.
Rem nodded in agreement. “Good.” He looked at Anna Mae. “Fetch me your brush please.” He continued to dab at Birdie’s lip.
Anna Mae did as he asked and returned before Birdie could figure out the reason. Rem reached out his hand and took the brush from his ma and then stood completely and walked behind where Birdie sat. Just as gently as he had been with her feet and her injuries, Rem scooped her tangled hair into his hand and started brushing through the matted mess. Her heart skipped and tears threatened to form. Why were they being so nice?
As he stroked over and over, taking time on the large tangles, he said, “Ma, do you mind grabbing some quilts and a pillow out of the chest? I’ll make up a bed out here in front of the fire, and Birdie can take my bed.”
Birdie quickly turned her head, stopping him from brushing. “Oh no! I can sleep on the floor! I can’t take your bed.” The idea of doing such a thing sent a rush of panic through her.
He placed his finger on her cheek and forced her head to face forward, continuing to brush the tangles away. “Don’t argue.”
She didn’t want to go against his word, in fear of what he would do with that brush if she did, but she also didn’t want to put out the only grown man who had ever shown any kindness to her. She swallowed hard before saying, “But, Rem—”
“Birdie,” he interrupted firmly. “There’s something you better get to know about me right fast. When my mind is set, then it is set.” Once he brushed the last tangle, he ran his palm over the back of her head then weaved his fingers through, sending a shiver down her spine. “Enough talk, let’s get you to bed.”
He reached for her hand and helped her stand. Never releasing his grip, he led her to the furthest room. She looked down and noticed how his large hand engulfed her much smaller one. She had an odd sense of security as she padded barefoot toward the room. Approaching the bed, he turned down the covers with his free hand.
He turned and looked at her. “Do you want me to get one of Ma’s nightdresses?”
She shook her head. “No, please. I’m fine in this dress. It’s nicer than anything I’ve worn. I’ll be fine. Please.” She didn’t want to sound like she was begging, but she didn’t want to ask anymore from Anna Mae or from Rem for that matter. Her shame weighed heavy on her shoulders.
Rem took a moment to think on that, and then thankfully fo
r Birdie, nodded. “All right. Just for tonight.” He then reached for her arms gently and helped her into bed, pulling the blankets up to her chin as her head hit the pillow. “Goodnight, Birdie. You’re safe here. Allow those sweet dreams to come.”
He leaned down and softly kissed her forehead. The first kiss Birdie had ever received. She looked up and smiled as their eyes connected. “Thank you, Rem. I’ve never known such kindness.” Rem didn’t pull away, and his lips were so close to hers that she could almost taste his breath.
“That’s a mighty shame,” he whispered, his lips still so close to hers.
As if under a spell, Birdie raised her head just enough so that their lips touched in the softest of kiss. He didn’t move back or resist, but quite the opposite. He pressed his lips harder to hers and conquered her mouth with his—fully kissing her as a man would a woman. When his tongue danced with hers, Birdie let out a gasp, breaking the spell they were in.
Rem pulled away and smiled, but he said nothing more. He tucked the blankets around her one last time and made his way to leave.
When the door closed behind him, Birdie allowed the tears to fall. She wasn’t sure why she was crying. She wasn’t sad. She wasn’t hurt. In fact, she was laying in a real bed for the first time in her life with a full belly. She was safe. Rem said so, so it must be true. And she just had the first kiss of her life. Then why was she crying?
Turning to her side and curling her knees up to her chest, she looked out the window at the falling snow. What would have happened if Rem didn’t find her tonight? She had fled from her father so fast, she didn’t grab anything to help keep her warm. And what would have happened if Rem wasn’t kind enough to take her home with him? She would have died.
She continued to cry, realizing she was crying because of the relief. Because for the moment, she was safe, she was warm, and she was free from the angry monster she called her pa. For at least tonight, she could experience what growing up as anything but a Bluebell was like. As her eyes grew heavy, she hoped to God that for once in her life, sweet dreams would indeed come.
15
Rem reached his arms above his head and stretched the kinks out of his body. He hadn’t slept well, and he wasn’t sure if it was due to the hard floor or the fact that he had a strange girl sleeping in his bed in the next room. He couldn’t quite shake the image out of his head of her beaten body trying to stay warm in the snowy night. If he hadn’t stumbled upon her, she would surely be dead by now. The thought made his gut clench. And the kiss… He didn’t know what to think about the kiss, and decided better to push the thought, and the memory of how she felt and tasted, far from his mind.
“She still asleep?” his ma asked, snapping him from his thoughts. She walked into the kitchen and applied an apron over her dress, getting ready to prepare breakfast like any other morning. Thing was, this wasn’t any ordinary morning.
“She is. I reckon this is the first night’s sleep she’s had with a full belly in a long time.” The memory of how she practically devoured her food made the tightness in his stomach increase even more. It looked like it hurt every time her bloody lip made contact with the spoon, but she never complained once. Her hunger overpowered all other senses.
A grunt was his ma’s only reply as she started the coffee. A few moments later she said, “Well, are you going to just stand there and watch me, or are you going to tell me what you plan on doing about our houseguest?” She turned and studied Rem with her hands on her hips.
Rem turned and looked out the window. The snow had stopped, and the storm clouds had passed. “I’m not sure. I guess I figure she can stay here until…” He paused. He didn’t have an answer. What was next? He couldn’t exactly keep her like a wild animal, wounded, and found in the forest. This wasn’t her home, and they weren’t her kin. Hell if he knew what the next step was.
“It ain’t proper having a young woman in your house unwed. People are going to talk,” Ma said as she started cracking eggs into a bowl.
“To hell with the cackling hens of Boca Town. I don’t give a damn what they say.”
Ma turned around and glared. “Watch your tongue, boy. I ain’t saying nothin’ about caring what they say, just the fact that they will be talking. It’s just a fact, and we would be fools not to take that into consideration.”
Rem walked over to the coffee and poured himself a cup and sat down, staring at the fire, contemplating what exactly needed to happen.
“One thing is for sure,” Ma said as she beat the eggs, “that girl has no business going back to her pa.”
Rem nodded in agreement as his jaw tightened. He didn’t consider himself a violent man by nature, but Jedson Bluebell might need to have a meeting with his fist. A broken nose surely would remind the man how to be a good father. Thoughts of how he would confront Jedson and what his next steps would be flooded his mind as he finished up his coffee and ate one of his ma’s famous biscuits. He smiled when he remembered how Birdie said she loved them. He’d make sure his ma baked them more often.
Realizing he had another mouth to feed if Birdie were to stay, he decided he better get started on his day. Heading over to his boots by the door, he said, “The night’s storm most likely froze over the ice pond again, giving me some fresh ice to cut. I should head on over and see.”
“I’m almost done with breakfast. Sit down and wait a minute. That ice ain’t going to melt while you eat some eggs,” she called over her shoulder.
“I have a lot of work to do. The railroad is operating more often now that several mines have found gold and silver. Sacramento and San Francisco are both wanting ice quicker than we can keep up. And with this new brewery in Boca Town, we need more ice than ever.” Rem continued to put on his boots. “Biscuit and coffee will hold me over for now. I’ll be home shortly when Birdie wakes up. Maybe I’ll eat something then.”
“Rem?”
He stopped buttoning his coat and turned to his ma. “Yes?”
“You did real good last night. I’m proud of you, boy. Real proud.” She walked over to him and straightened out his collar, looking up into his eyes. “There’s a high chance she isn’t going to stay. Something tells me that Birdie has a stubborn streak running through her.”
Her words were like a punch to the gut. “Of course she’s staying. It isn’t an option. Where would she go? Back to that shack in the woods?”
“Rem…”
“I don’t have time to discuss this now.”
“If she insists on going back to her pa?”
Rem walked to the door and opened it, the chill of the air going straight to his bones. “Then we can’t stop her. She ain’t our kin, and she ain’t our concern if she walks out the door. Not much we can do.” What more could he say? He hoped to God she wouldn’t go back to that bastard, but he couldn’t stop her. Hell, he only met the girl last night. What she did was no concern of his, yet the rising temper in his inner core told a different story. Birdie Bluebell did not belong back with her pa. He didn’t know much more than that, but he knew her pain and abuse would continue. But what could he do?
He patted his ma’s shoulder. “Tell her she’s welcome. Ain’t much we can do beyond that.” He then turned and headed to the ice.
Birdie flinched when her lip made contact with the blanket, fully waking her from her slumber. She had never slept so hard in her life, not waking once—even being in another man’s bed in a strange house. The smell of coffee and eggs cooking made her stomach grumble, surprising since she ate more food last night than in an entire week combined. She quickly got up and made the bed, paying close attention to tuck and smooth every inch of the blanket to ensure perfection.
Padding her bare feet against the cold wood floor, she cracked the door open and peeked out, smiling when she found Anna Mae in the middle of dishing up breakfast.
“Perfect timing, girl. Go on around back and do your business, and then come sit down to eat.”
Birdie quickly did as she asked, wondering why she
hadn’t seen Rem in the room. When she returned to the kitchen, Anna Mae was already sitting down, motioning for her to do the same.
“This smells delicious,” Birdie complimented as she sat down across from her. Her plate of eggs and biscuits were waiting for her, along with a steaming cup of coffee. “Where is Rem?”
“He went to work, but should be home shortly. I swear that boy lives and breathes by the ice. His pa was a hard worker, but nothing compared to my willful son.”
“I hope he slept well. I feel something awful about taking his bed.” She paused and almost moaned when she bit into the biscuit, and the buttermilk delight took over all senses. “Oh, Anna Mae! These biscuits!”
“Go on and eat as much as you please. We have plenty.” Anna Mae brought her coffee to her lips and sipped while she studied Birdie. “How are you feeling today? You got feeling in your toes?”
Birdie nodded in response as she continued to shovel the food in her mouth. She wiggled her toes just to be sure and was pleased that she could feel all ten digits.
Anna Mae studied Birdie’s every move. Birdie couldn’t help but feel a bit self-conscious, but she just continued to eat. How she could still be hungry after last night’s meal amazed her, but the flavors danced across her tongue, beckoning her mouth for more. “That dress looks good on you. I think you should keep it.”
“Oh no! I could never do that. I’ve never had anything so nice—”
“Hush now. The dress is yours, and I won’t hear another word about it.” She didn’t say anything else, finishing her own breakfast before speaking again. “Rem and I spoke of your situation this morning.”
Birdie pushed back her finished plate and fiddled with her fingers. Something about Anna Mae’s tone made her nervous. “I ain’t going to be a burden no longer. If there is anything you need help with around the homestead before I go, I will do it all.”
“I don’t want you doing a thing. You were my guest last night. I won’t have you questioning my hospitality.” Even though the words were stern, the soft curve of Anna Mae’s lips exuded a gentle warmth from the older lady.
